Prince Harry alleged that he had to fly alone to Scotland ahead of Queen Elizabeth II‘s death because the royal family didn’t invite him.
During a 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper, which aired on Sunday, January 8, the Duke of Sussex, 38, recalled reaching out to Prince William about travel plans for Balmoral as the late monarch’s health took a turn.
“I asked my brother — I said, ‘What are your plans? How are you and [Princess] Kate getting up there?’ And then, a couple of hours later, you know, all of the family members that live within the Windsor and Ascot area were jumping on a plane together,” he said about the September 2022 conversation. “A plane with 12, 14, maybe 16 seats. I was not invited.”
The BetterUp CIO noted that by the time he arrived, his grandmother had passed away.
“I walked into the hall and my aunt [Princess Anne] was there to greet me,” he detailed. “And she asked me if I wanted to see her. I thought about it for about five seconds, thinking, ‘Is this a good idea?’ And I was, like, ‘You know what? You can do this. You need to say goodbye.’ So went upstairs, took my jacket off and walked in and just spent some time with her alone.”
Harry continued: “She was in her bedroom. [She] was actually — I was really happy for her. Because she’d finished life. She’d completed life, and her husband [Prince Philip] was waiting for her. And the two of them are buried together.”
Following Elizabeth’s death at age 96, Harry praised her “everlasting legacy” in a heartwarming tribute.
“In celebrating the life of my grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen — and in mourning her loss — we are all reminded of the guiding compass she was to so many in her commitment to service and duty. She was globally admired and respected. Her unwavering grace and dignity remained true throughout her life and now her everlasting legacy,” Harry wrote in a statement at the time. “Let us echo the words she spoke after the passing of her husband, Prince Philip, words which can bring comfort to all of us now: ‘Life, of course, consists of final partings as well as first meetings.’”
In his lengthy message, the U.K. native gushed about the memories that he shared with Elizabeth over the years.
“Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings — from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my commander in chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren,” Harry, who shares 3-year-old Archie and 19-month-old Lili with Meghan Markle, concluded. “I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between. You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over. And as it comes to first meetings, we now honor my father in his new role as King Charles III.“
